Birth anniversary of Abdul Alim celebrated

Abdul Alim, a brilliant folk singer, played an important role in popularising folk music. He possessed a gifted voice, which mesmerized listeners across the country. His songs epitomized the very essence of folk culture. Despite his contributions to the genre he is remembered very little, and only a handful of organisations hold regular programmes in his memory.

To mark his birth anniversary, the cultural organisation Bangladesh Loko Sangeet Parishad (BLSP) organised a programme at the seminar hall of Central Public Library on July 25.

The event opened with a group performance of an Abdul Alim number, Amar desher moton emon deshki kothao achhey.

A discussion then followed. Poet Asad Chowdhury was present as the chief guest, with folk artiste Sri Moloy Kumar Ganguli as the special guest at the programme. Akramul Islam, senior vice president, (BLSP) presided over the session.

Folk artiste Indra Mohan Rajbangshi and folk artiste Abdul Karim Khan also spoke at the programme.

Speaking on Abdul Alim, Asad Chowdhury said, “Folk songs are so central to our culture, but it seems that the works of such artistes as Abdul Alim are not readily available to listeners as his works have not been properly preserved. Proper initiatives should have been taken to preserve the golden voice.”

Malay Kumar Ganguli noted, “Abdul Alim pioneered and enriched our folk culture. He was an extraordinary artiste who will be alive amongst us with his songs.”

The cultural programme featured folk songs popularised by Abdul Alim. The first artiste to perform was Shayanto Khan, a young artiste. Shayanto rendered Kehoi korey becha kena kehoi kandey rashtay porey, written by Jalal Uddin Khan and popularised by Abdul Alim.

Following Shayanto, A K Azad performed Nobi mor poroshmoni nobi mor shonar khoni, written by Sirajul Islam and popularised by Abdul Alim.

Renditions of two Kanai Lal Shil numbers – Pinjirar pakhir moto and Dukhinir poraner bondhurey amay koi geli felia by Mafizur Rahman and Sharmin Hassan followed.

Among others Nasrin Hayat, Shwapon Mian, Shamima Sultana, Shamol Kumar Pal, Tamanna Nigar Tuli, Mahtab Uddin, Mohammad Rejaul, Shadhon Lal Deb Nath performed at the programme.

A total of 24 artistes performed numbers composed by Kanai Laal Shil, Shirajul Islam, Abdul Latif, Jashim Uddin, Lalon Shah and Kazi Nazrul Islam at the programme.

The event was wrapped up with a performance by Indra Mohan Rajbangshi.

It was the fifth such programme that BLSP has organised since 2002 to celebrate the birth anniversary of Abdul Alim.

Source: The Daily Star

Tags: Abdul Alim, Kazi Nazrul Islam, আব্দুল আলীম